Regulating-valve for railway-brakes



(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. WESTINGHOUSE, Jr.

v BEGULATING VALVE FOR RAILWAY BRAKES. No. 251,980. Patented Jan. 3,1882.-

- (No Model.) 2 Sheena-Sheet 2.

G. WESTINGHOUSE, Jr.

REGULAT ING VALVE FOR RAILWAY BRAKES. No. 251,980. Patented Jan. 3,1882.

153 151. 6%: firm-Queer UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, JR., OFPITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

REGULATlNG-VALVE FO R RAI LWAY B RAKES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Latte rs Patent No. 251,980, dated January 3, 1882.

' Application filed Augustfll'. 1881. (No model.) I I To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that 'LGEORGE WESTING- HOUSE, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, have in- Vented a new and useful Improved Regulating- Valve for Railway-Brakes workedby Fluid- Pressure, of which the following is a specification.

For working brakes of a railway-train by fluid-pressure the engine-driver usually employs a regulating-valve, by which he can either admit fluid under pressure into the'pipe which conveys it along the train, or he can more or less relieve the pressure in the trainpipe. J My invention relates to the, construction I and. arrangement of a regulating-valve for this purpose in a compact; and convenient form, giving facilities for delicate regulation, as I will describe, referring to the accompanying drawings, of which-- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the valve-box, a'nd Fig. 2 is a front view, showing the working-handle and its spring-catch.

The valve-box has two nozzles-A, which-is connected to the main reservoir or supply of fluid under pressure, and B, which is connected to the train-pipe. These nozzles open from two compartments of the valvc-box, sepafitted by avalve, G, which is pressed tovits seat by a spring, 0.

Attached to the valve 0 is another valve, D, the attachment consisting of a cross-pin, d, which hasccrtain freedom inthe hole .of the stem 'of D, through which it passes. The valve- D seats on a hole in the center of a piston, E, on the face of which i's-a flexible diaphragm, F, secured at its outer edge between the two parts of the valve-box, which are screwed together. The compartment of the valve-box on the other side of the piston E communi-t cates with the outer air by passages G, there being free passages to this compartment when the valve D is iunseated by the hole through. the piston and cross-holese. The stem of the piston E has a shoulder, against which butts oneend of a spring, H, whose other end butts against a plug, k, which is screwed into the lever-handle K. The boss of this handle has on it a screw-thread, L, working in an internal thread of the valve-box. The handle K is provided with a spring-catch lever, M, the lower end of which has teeth that can engage with teeth cut in the periphery of a ring, N, that is claifiped between the two parts of the valvebox, the lever K being held in any desired position by the engagement of the spring-catch with these teeth. Wheuthc driver desires to admit fluid under pressure into the train-pipe,

he turns the handle K so that its boss screws inward, pressing the piston F toward the left.

The valve D is thus firmlyseated, but the valve on the piston E. The pressure of the fluid in the train-pipe, acting on the piston E, forces it back, and the valve 0 being seated, the pin d holds the valve D while the piston retreats from it, and thereupon fluid from the pipe flows by the nozzle B, past the valve D, through a the piston and the lateral apertures e, and escapes by the passages G. When thepressure in the pipe is so far reduced by escape of fluid that the force of the spring H overcomes the pressure on the piston E, the piston automatically advances, so as to close the valve D and prevent further escape from the pipe. As the driver by turning the handle K more or less can more or less relieve the'spring H, be can delicately adjust the pressure in the train-pipe, and can thus cause the brakes who applied avith greater or less rapidity and force, as circumstances may require. v

The diaphragm .F may obviously be dispensed with if the packing of thepiston E be sutficiently tight to prevent leakage of fluid past the piston, As such packiugs and the cylindrical surface against which they work become worn, the diaphragm F is of advantage to preventlcakage when the fluid employed is compressed-air. When a. liquid under pressure or steam is employed the diaphragm should be dispensed with and thepassagcs G should be connected to a return-pipe.

Although I have shown the valves 0 and D D, hollow piston E, having lateral ports 0, esas separate pieces loosely connected by a pin, cape-port G, springs c and H, handle K, and they might be rigidly connected and yet opscrew-plug k, substantially as set forth.

crate as described, the loosencss of the con- In testimony whereof I have signed my name I 5 5 nection being merely adopted to allow for slight to this specification, in the presence of two subinequalities of workmanship and fitting. scribing witnesses, this 5th day of August, A.

Having thus described the nature of my in- D. 1881. vention and the best means I know of carry- GERGE WESTINGHOUSE, J R. ing it out in practice, I claim-- Witnesses: 10 A regulating-valve for railway-brakes, h'av- JOHN IMRAY,

ing in combination the nozzles A B, valves 0 JNO. P. M. MILLARD. 

